1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to a method of conducting searches on the internet. Specifically, computers connected to each other using common communications protocols form computer networks, the most common and ubiquitous one being the Internet. Software on connected computers can often both transmit and receive data—software that “serves” data to many other computers is often called “server” software, and computers fulfilling this role are often called servers—software that primarily receives data from servers is often called “client” software, thus forming a “client-server” relationship on a computer network. One of the most common types of “client-server” relationship is between computers used for browsing the World Wide Web and computers “serving” Web pages to such “client” computers.
Within the realm of browsing for Web pages, a common task is utilizing a search engine Website to retrieve lists of links (and associated snippets of Web page content from the Web page the links were gathered from) to other Websites that the user expects will be relevant to them based on the search terms they used to conduct the search.
Search Engine Websites employ a variety of techniques to gather and “index” (enter into their internal databases) these lists of links and attach weighted values to words found within the Website associated with the indexed link. Users then conduct searches at the Search Engine Website, and the Search Engine Website attempts to sort the results displayed to the search engine user according to a ranking factor that measures the degree to which the search terms entered by the user match the overall weighted values associated with the links listed within the search engine database. Users judge for themselves whether or not the results displayed by a search engine Website are in fact relevant for their own purposes.
Search Engine Websites therefore utilize a variety of algorithms to generate the final ranking factor for each indexed link, in the hope that their algorithms will generate ranking factors that cause the displayed records (sorted according to the ranking factor) to be judged by their users as more relevant than results displayed by other search engine Websites given the same starting search terms. One of the most popular Search Engines in use today is Google (www.google.com).
2. Detailed Description of the Prior Art
The following ten patents and published applications are relevant to the present invention.    1. U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,425 issued to John Naughton on May 29, 2001 for “Geographic Search Engine Having Independent Selections Of Direction And Distance From Relocatable Hub” (hereafter the “Naughton Patent”);    2. U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,998 issued to Charles Wayne Rutledge et al. on Nov. 18, 2003 for “Information Search System For Enabling A User OF A User Terminal To Search A Data Source” (hereafter the “Rutledge Patent”);    3. United States Published Patent Application No. 2005/0160014 to Andy Moss et al. on Jun. 21, 2005 for “Techniques For Identifying And Comparing Local Retail Prices” (hereafter the “Moss Published Patent Application”);    4. U.S. Pat. No. 6,980,982 issued to William T. Geddes, Jr. et al. on Dec. 27, 2005 for “Search System And Method Involving User And Provider Associated Beneficiary Groups” (hereafter the “Geddes Patent”);    5. U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,405 issued to Xiongwu Xia and assigned to Doug Norman, Interchange Corp. on Jun. 12, 2007 for “Method And Apparatus of Indexing Web Pages Of A Web Site For Geographic Searchine Based On User Location” (hereafter the “Xia Patent”);    6. United States Published Patent Application No. 2007/0150369 to Michael A. Zlvin on Jun. 28, 2007 for “Method And System For Determining The Optimal Travel Route By Which Customers Can Purchase Local Goods At the Lowest Total Cost” (hereafter the “Zlvin Published Patent Application”);    7. United States Published Patent Application No. 2008/0086460 to Kelsey Byron Stewart on Apr. 10, 2008 for “Local Search Directory Techniques” (hereafter the “Stewart Published Patent Application”);    8. U.S. Pat. No. 7,457,628 issued to Brad W. Blumberg et al. and assigned to Smarter Agent, LLC on Nov. 25, 2008 for “System And Method For Providing Information Based On Geographic Position” (hereafter the “Blumberg Patent”);    9. United States Published Patent Application No. 2009/0106681 to Abhinav Gupta et al. on Apr. 23, 2009 for “Method And Apparatus For Geographic Specific Search Results Including A Map-Based Display” (hereafter the “Gupta Published Patent Application”);    10. United States Published Patent Application No. 2009/0106225 to Wade S. Smith et al. on Apr. 23, 2009 for “Identification Of Medical Practitioners Who Emphasize Specific Medical Conditions Or Medical Procedures In Their Practice” (hereafter the “Smith Published Patent Application”).
The Naughton Patent employs the general concept of having a search engine which provides specific information based upon a geographic location of the item being searched relative to the location of where the person is performing the search or relative to a specific desired location. However, the focus of this patent deals with locating real estate within a certain geographical area and then providing the information to the user about the specific real estate in a pre-selected zone that the user is interested in locating for the purposes of sales or rental.
The Rutledge Patent discloses a system and method are disclosed for searching a data source suing text string searches in which queries and information records are qualified by temporal and/or geographical references. In an exemplary embodiment, temporal and geographical references associated with a query are the date/time the query was last submitted by a user and the user's geographical area of interest (defined by ranges of latitude and longitude coordinates), respectively. The temporal and geographical references associated with an information record are the date/time the record was last modified and the “origin” of the record, respectively. A comparison between the temporal and geographic references associated with a query and those associated with the information records in the data source permits geographically irrelevant records to be suppressed and allows an individual user to receive only information that has been modified since the user last requested it. Thus, search results are automatically pre-filtered prior to transmission to the user thereby conserving network resources and reducing the amount of context-based filtering required of the user.
The Moss Published Patent Application discloses a computer software algorithm which relates to the aggregation and use of local retail information for the purpose of providing a wide variety of valuable services to consumers and retailers. The invention relates to providing services which help consumers find and compare the best prices of promotions for products at their local retail stores. The search interface is presented by which a consumer can identify a first price for a product offered by a first vendor in a geographic area. The search also aggregates local retail information and the retail information includes geographic location information for corresponding retailers. At least the portion of the retail information is retrieved and stored in a database index by the geographical location where the prices for the same product from other retailers in the area are also listed to enable consumers to determine the best price for the product in the area they are searching.
The Geddes Patent discloses a search system and method provide a user with a fast and efficient way to progressively expand a search for providers of a specified search object, such as a good, service, or information; while maintaining a desired link to a beneficiary group including a particular geographic community, a community of interest, or a user-preferred class of providers. More specifically, the user and/or provider is initially associated with at least one of a plurality of beneficiary groups, such as a local church for example, for searching for a provider associated with a user-specified beneficiary group or groups. Thus, a user may conduct a targeted search for a specified search object from providers associated with a similarly specified beneficiary group. The search or beneficiary group can thereafter be expanded by the user, until the user selects a provider of the user-specified good, service, or information, associated with the user-specified beneficiary group(s).
The Xia Patent discloses a method and apparatus of indexing web pages of a web site for geographical searching based upon user location. The patent discloses a local search engine geographically indexes information for searching by identifying a geocoded web page of a web site and identifying at least one geocodable web page of the web site. The system identifies a geocode contained within content of the geocoded web page of the web site. The system indexes content of the geocoded web page and content of the geocodable web page. The indexing including associating the geocode contained within content of the geocoded web page to the indexed content of the geocoded web page and the geocodable web page to allow geographical searching of the content of the web pages.
The Zivin Published Patent Application discloses a method and system for providing customers with means to determine a) how far the customer should be willing to travel to a vendor to purchase locally sold goods and b) what routes the customer should take to minimize his or her total costs. Customers use an Internet search engine to find products or services that they are interested in purchasing in their local area. The search results provide a list of goods along with their current price and store location. Customers select one or more goods they are interested in purchasing and add these goods to a shopping list. A recommendation is provided based on variables such as the customer's estimated value of time, traffic conditions, gas prices, parking fees, automobile miles per gallon, the difference in prices between stores, or other relevant variables. The recommendation informs that customers as to vendors at which he or she should purchase goods and the order in which the locations should be visited so as to minimize total purchase costs.
The Stewart Published Patent Application discloses various technologies and techniques are disclosed for providing and/or facilitating local searching. Basic information is imported from an external data provider about the businesses that are located in a particular locality. A customization feature allows each business to optionally add additional details to a respective business profile associated with the basic information. A categorized grouping of the businesses is created based at least in part upon the basic information. A web site is provided that allows an end user to access a local search directory containing at least the basic information about the businesses. Businesses are included in the directory without having to register. Search engines can use the categorized business directory to retrieve business information limited to a particular locality. A list of matching information is provided to the search engine for use by the search engine in responding to a user request.
The Blumberg Patent discloses a system and method for providing position information using a three-dimensional based grid is provided. The position information may be relayed to an electronic device by providing location information to a database and receiving location-centric information at the electronic device. The system may include a network for continuously updating the database in real-time.
The Gupta Published Patent Application discloses a method and apparatus for geographic specific search results in response to a search request having an address field includes retrieving map portion having the address thereon. The method and system further includes determining entities in geographic relation to the address and generating an entity listing, where the entity listing includes listing of the various entities. These entities may represent any type of business, club, library, government building/office, or other locations. The method and apparatus further includes determining various descriptive terms that relate to the entities which are in geographic relation to the address. These terms include hyperlinks to corresponding entity listings. The method and apparatus further includes generating a visual display that includes: the map portion with the address displayed thereon; an entity portion that includes the entity listing; and a term portion with a taxonomical display of the plurality of terms.
The Smith Published Patent Application discloses a scheme enables the identification of medical professionals having expertise with a particular medical condition or procedure. Areas of expertise are assigned to both conditions and procedures and medical professionals who treat the condition or perform the procedure. A description for treatment is received and used to identify a specific condition or procedure. Upon identification of the condition or procedure, the areas of expertise assigned to the condition or procedure are retrieved. Medical professionals who also have assigned one or more of the retrieved areas of expertise are then identified.
There is a significant need for an improved search engine which enables local businesses to be listed at the top of the search.